Many young children take comfort in the use of a pacifier. Satisfying the child's natural tendency to suckle, the pacifier allows a parent to satisfy the child's instinct by providing a nipple upon which to suckle. As with any item exposed to a child it must be assured that it is kept clean and germ-free at all times. However, it is exceedingly difficult to determine whether or not pacifier is clean or dirty by simply looking at it. Many times, a pacifier found on a sink or countertop may have just been cleaned or may be there waiting to be cleaned. As such, many clean pacifiers are often re-cleaned and dirty pacifiers may be given back to child. Accordingly, there exists a need for means by which the current state of a pacifier's cleanliness can be easily determined. The development of the device described herein fulfills this need.
There have been attempts in the past to improve pacifiers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,905,507 issued to Hinshaw discloses a teething pacifier with varied teething surfaces thereon for a child to use for teething. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a rotatably-mounted pacifier cleanliness indicator for visually displaying the hygienic status of a pacifier.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,695,869 issued to Fitzpatrick et al. discloses a pacifier with two substrates molded together. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to disclose a pacifier with a cleanliness indicator.
U.S. Pat. No. D 532,522 issued to Struckmeyer discloses a pacifier with an open central area. Unfortunately, this design patent does not appear to be similar in appearance to the disclosed device, nor does it appear to possess a cleanliness indicator.
U.S. Pat. No. D 520,640 issued to Pilis discloses a pacifier. Unfortunately, this design patent does not appear to be similar in appearance to the disclosed device, nor does it appear to disclose a rotatably-mounted pacifier cleanliness indicator for visually displaying the hygienic status of a pacifier.
U.S. Pat. No. D 453,379 issued to Roehrig discloses a pacifier. Unfortunately, this patent does not appear to be similar in appearance to the disclosed device, nor does it appear to disclose a pacifier with a cleanliness indicator.
U.S. Pat. No. D 413,387 issued to Fitzpatrick discloses a pacifier with a ribbed nipple portion. Unfortunately, this design patent does not appear to be similar in appearance to the disclosed device.
U.S. Pat. No. D 393,074 issued to Fields et al. discloses a combined pacifier and clip attachment. Unfortunately, this design patent does not appear to be similar in appearance to the disclosed device, nor does it appear to disclose a rotatably-mounted pacifier cleanliness indicator for visually displaying the hygienic status of a pacifier.
U.S. Pat. No. D 380,836 issued to Simmons discloses a pacifier with a plurality of openings in the guard and handle. Unfortunately, this design patent does not appear to be similar in appearance to the disclosed device, nor does it appear to comprise a cleanliness indicator.